The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is among the top classical gothic horror novels that are widely read in the modern days. Surprisingly, the novel did not appear to be much significant to the Victorian era readers. The few people who enjoyed it though it was nothing more than a good adventure story. The novel attained an international iconic status following the production of various movie adaptations. Critically, the popularity of the novel was not witnessed until the production of the controversial adaptation under the name Nosferatu. Although this film adaptation was legally banned, there are some existing copies of the same. Ever since Dracula has had a remarkable effect on how the image of a vampire is perceived within the folklore discipline and popular culture. Both Dracula and Nosferatu are popularly debated on following both their superficial similarities and their differences. While some thematic concerns remain consistent to both the novel and the film, Nosferatu leaves out some issues in Dracula to explore totally different ones. Similarly, the styles used in the two artistic works vary. This could be attributed to the difference in settings as well as the unshared properties between the authors.
Dracula is a 1897 novel by an Irish writer, Bram Stoker which introduced the archetype gothic character Count Dracula (Stoker). The novel contributed to the establishment of various conventions in the modern day vampire fantasy (Bailey). Stoker in the novel tells the story Dracula, a character whose name is the title of the novel and a vampire as well. Dracula makes an attempt to flee from Transylvania to England in his mission to feed on new blood and spread vampirism, undead curse. In England, Dracula ends up in in a battle with a small group of men and one woman, Mina, led by Professor Helsing. Dracula loses in the battle and dies off. Nosferatu, on the other hand, is a 1922 horror film adaptation of Stoker’s novel Dracula (The Charlottesville Times) (Murnau). The film which is directed by F.W Murnau has its main character and vampire as Count Orlok. Although most of the aspects in the novel are transferred to the film, there are various areas of differences. For instance, the names of characters change as well as their roles (Wallis). Following the changes of roles among the characters, their traits also change resulting in some completely varied themes. Stoker and Murnau use different techniques to build their artistic works resulting in two superficially related works yet very different from an in-depth analysis.
The two works of art are primarily gothic and majorly explore the theme of horror with many mysterious happenings being the main events in the artistic works (Blazeski). The pieces of art portray a fight between good and evil. The two vampires are pretty undeniably evil. The vampires feed ion human being blood. They perform mysterious activities like carrying coffins with them and even entering the coffins while still alive. The other characters gang up to destroy the vampires. The crew has good intentions to save the society from the vampires. Although the characters acting for the good side finally wins, the characters had to really sacrifice to ensure that they conquer the evil of the vampires. Clearly, the two artistic works are typical traditional works of good versus evil and the audience can predict from the beginning that the good will ultimately win and the vampires will be defeated. Hence, the suspense in the two is not which side will win but rather how many souls have to be sacrificed for the achievement of the final victory.
Death is a recurring theme in both Dracula and Nosferatu. The two vampires, Count Orlok, and Count Dracula feed on human blood which pushes them to kill their subjects (Runyeon). The vampires are said to transport coffins where they rest and bury their victims. Several characters die in both the novel and the film and the vampires also die. In Dracula, Lucy’s mother dies first followed by Lucy and later the vampire Dracula. In Nosferatu, the characters think that a plague has hit the town following numerous deaths. Later on, Count Orlok dies trying to escape from Ellen’s room.
Although both the novel and the film explore the theme of gender roles, the female protagonists exhibit different character traits which consequently lead to the change of the theme of gender roles. In Nosferatu, dominant women are not a threat to the society like in Dracula. They are instead saviors as exhibited by Ellen. Ellen replaces the women characters from Dracula, Mina, and Lucy. Ideally, women in the novel Dracula are presented as both intuitive and smart yet very submissive and physically weak. Contrastingly, the women in the film Nosferatu despite being smart to warn the male characters based on their intuitions and instincts on the steps that they should take. In the movie, Ellen is portrayed as more helpful and at times stronger than her male counterparts. She manages to kill Nosferatu while Jonathan falls on the victim as he becomes a vampire.
The women in the novel appear to be less active and fall victims of the vampire, Dracula. Lucy and her mother, Mrs. Westenra die with Lucy being converted into a vampire. Mina is also attacked by Dracula who feeds her with his blood in order to gain control of her. Although Mina is freed at the later stages, she still falls a victim of Dracula. Hence, all the women in the novel hardly influence the decisions of the men unlike in the film. They are rather a threat inhibiting the success of the men in conquering Dracula.
The film adaptation of Dracula, Nosferatu evidences dangerous sex which is absent in the novel. Ellen appears to be the purest character in the film free from sin and perhaps a virgin. The relationship between her and her husband Hutter is a puppy love and the two do not engage in the affairs of married couples (O’Brien 36). This is contrasted with Count Orlok’s apparent bisexuality and dark eroticism. The manner in which he sucks blood from Hutter’s hand is disturbing due to the sensuality in the action. At the end of Nosferatu, Count Orlok follows Ellen in her bed. Even though he needs blood, the director hints that he seeks something else apart from blood. This theme is missing in Dracula as Count Dracula only feeds on the blood from Mina and there is no suggestion that he needed anything more.
The novel and the movie feature different reflections of evil. In Dracula, the victims of Count Dracula end up being vampires too. In Nosferatu, Count Orlok determines who becomes a vampire and who does not become a vampire (Mayne 28). In Dracula, both Lucy and Mina are converted into vampires. However, Ellen in Nosferatu does not become a vampire but retains her human nature. This implies that the two artistic works portray different degrees of evil with Nosferatu having the highest magnitude of evil. This argument could as well be supported by the different descriptions of the vampires. Count Orlok appears to be more dreadful than Count Dracula. The vampire in Dracula is unattractive but not much monstrous. Nosferatu’s vampire depicts Count Dracula’s features much exaggerated into the appearance of a grotesque being with a large nose. The two works, therefore, represent varied magnitudes of evil.
Primarily, Dracula and Nosferatu are presented in two different forms. While Dracula is a novel (written in prose form), Nosferatu is an acted play. The two adopt different forms to present the intended message. Ideally, the novel is more detailed version than the film as a film narrates a story in a short period (Rigby 201). While a novel appears in chapters, the script of a play is divided into acts and scenes. The fact that a play is performed live before an audience leads to the conclusion that Nosferatu was much superior compared to Dracula. Nosferatu gained an extensive viewership compared to Dracula primarily due to its form. The film debuted a decade later after the release of the book. This implies that the film exudes a slightly higher modern touch compared to the novel. The shooting of the movie was highly influenced by the Expressionist movement in Germany which makes it more stylized and symbolic compared to the novel version.
Conclusion:
Conclusively, both Nosferatu and Dracula are overall great works of art. Both invoke almost emotions in the minds of the audience. Dracula, being the masterpiece of Nosferatu gave life to horror movies as there are numerous adaptations on the same. The changes witnessed in the film version are not much withdrawn from the novel and hence the original touch of the artistic work still remains. The changes make the film more adaptive to its setting both in terms of time and place. Critically, Nosferatu despite its discrepancies with Dracula is still its greatest adaptation that stays true to the storyline as well as the thematic concerns.
Bailey, Jonathan. Dracula vs. Nosferatu: A True Copyright Horror Story. 17 October 2011. 7 November 2018. <https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/17/dracula-vs-nosferatu-a-true-copyright-horror-story/>.
Blazeski, Goran. We think Murnau’s “Nosferatu” is the greatest adaptation of Dracula. 27 October 2016. 7 November 2018. <https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/27/we-think-murnaus-nosferatu-is-the-greatest-adaptation-of-dracula/>.
Mayne, J. Dracula in the twilight: Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922). In E. Rentschler, German film & literature: adaptations and transformations. Methuen, 1986.
Nosferatu. Dir. F. W. Murnau. 1922.
O’Brien, D. “Shadow of the Vampire: Dracula in (Mis)translation.” Emergence (2009): 34-39.
Rigby, J. American Gothic: Sixty Years of Horror Cinema. London: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2007.
Runyeon, W. “Night Vision: An Analysis of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu.” 63-64 (2007): Legacy Scholarly Journal.
Stoker, Bram. Page semi-protected. 1897.
The Charlottesville Times. Nosferatu: A Film Analysis. 5 May 2011. 7 November 2018. <https://www.charlottesvilletimes.com/2011/04/nosferatu-a-film-analysis/>.
Wallis, Keziah. Orlock vs. Dracula: A comparison of the vampire in Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931). 28 February 2012. 7 November 2018. <https://ethnographerapprentice.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/orlock-vs-dracula-a-comparison-of-the-vampire-in-nosferatu-1922-and-dracula-1931/>.
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